MOBAs are some of the biggest games on the market right now, almost everyone has either heard about or played League of Legends. They have existed since a 2003 mod for Warcraft 3: Reign of Chaos called DotA, but it was not until 2015 that Blizzard wanted a piece of the MOBA market, so it launched Heroes of the Storm. It brought together all of Blizzard’s franchises into one game to battle it out in the nexus.
Heroes of the Storm received some pretty decent scores, with many enjoying the way it shook the genre up. However, the cosmetics and progression were lacking so Blizzard released the large-scale 2.0 update in 2017. Then in 2019, Blizzard announced that it was canceling all Heroes of the Storm Esports and shifting developers away from the game. This was shocking, as Heroes of the Storm had garnered many fans. Since then, Heroes of the Storm has received balance patches and a couple of new heroes, but new content has slowed down considerably. With Microsoft purchasing Activision Blizzard, this could be the perfect time for Microsoft to revive the fan-favorite MOBA.
Heroes of the Storm is a Crossover Like no Other
Heroes of the Storm brings in characters from Warcraft, Diablo, Starcraft, Overwatch, and even The Lost Vikings as playable heroes. The game has 90 heroes with their own unique play styles, each ripped straight from their respective titles. For instance, Tracer can teleport around the map, Sylvanas shoots shadowy arrows, and Tychus walks around with a minigun. There are even some unique heroes like Cho’Gall which requires two players to control.
Along with playable characters, there are 15 battlegrounds themed after the different franchises, this sets Heroes of the Storm apart from League of Legends with four battlegrounds. Each battleground has its own objectives that players fight over to gain a massive advantage. On Alterac Pass, a map themed after Warcraft, players must fight over prison camps to summon calvary and their main keeps have been replaced by powerful generals that players have to beat. Each battleground is unique and players have to learn their different mechanics if they want to master the game.
With Microsoft purchasing Blizzard this adds a whole host of new crossover potential to Heroes of the Storm. At first, it may seem weird to imagine Master Chief fighting alongside Diablo, but this is also the same game that tasks Mercy with healing a Murloc, weirder things have happened in Heroes of the Storm. The game can make more people appreciate certain titles, The Lost Vikings was not a very well known title before Heroes of the Storm added them to its roster, and Microsoft is sitting on a treasure trove of franchises that could make their appearance in the nexus.
Heroes of the Storm Sets Itself Apart from other MOBAs
When Heroes of the Storm entered the scene it was competing against Dota 2 and League of Legends, so it had to set itself apart. Blizzard did this by making it much more team-oriented and removed items from the game. This caused some debate on the internet, but it helped draw in players that were put off by some mechanics of the other MOBAs.
Normally in a MOBA players level up separately by killing enemies, this can cause an issue if there is a player on the team that has not been killing enemies or that keeps dying, they will be severely under-leveled. Heroes of the Storm removed this worry by removing individual levels and adding a team level, this means the team levels up together. The team works together by killing enemies and accomplishing battleground objectives which contribute to the overall team level.
Blizzard also made the move to remove items from the game. In most MOBAs players will acquire gold that they spend on items that make their champions more powerful. In Heroes of the Storm players select talents as they level up instead, each talent makes their hero more powerful. With team leveling there is no fear that a player will go into battle less powerful than others, this mechanic drew in many players that were looking for a more team-oriented MOBA.
Heroes of the Storm was a unique and well-put-together MOBA that Blizzard pulled the plug on. The game still has a decent amount of fans and players can always find a match. All it needs is some more support, and it could make a big comeback. If Microsoft is looking for an easy way into the MOBA market then Heroes of the Storm is perfect.
Heroes of the Storm is available now on PC.
